Playtime
by PhantomBrat
Summary: Abandoned by his village and adopted by a creature of Darkness, a sickly child is given a second chance to 'live'.


A small child whimpered as night fell in the forest. He had been abandoned by the villagers after the death of all in his family aside from himself due to an unknown illness. To ensure that the five-year-old would not follow them, the leader of the village ordered that he be secured to a tree. The boy had been deathly ill so the ones who tied him up held their breaths while making sure that the ropes were tight.

The boy watched as he was left all alone to sit in the woods where hungry animals would surely finish him off for a light meal. As night fell and the cold set in, the child's fever began to claim him.

A lone figure stalked through the woods in hopes of finding a trespasser to punish. This was the King of all the supernatural world, Yami Atemu. He had grown bored of allowing his loyal guards to deal with trespassers and decided to take this patrol for himself.

He stopped in his tracks when he spotted a child tied to one of his trees. The figure smirked as he approached the sleeping figure. 'This would be an easy meal,' he thought. The thought fled when he saw how much the boy looked like himself. Yami decided to take the child and claim it as his own.

()()()()()()()()

Changing the boy was easier than he had hoped due to his already weakened state. When the child awoke, amethyst eyes greeted Yami's own crimson ones. Yami had already announced the boy as his son to his subjects and had ordered that they collect one person from the village not far from where he had been found for the boy's first meal. Yami high hopes that this would shed some light on the boy's past.

Yami carefully picked up the boy and smiled softly as he snuggled into his shoulder, still half-asleep. They headed to the cell where the boy would consume his first meal as a young vampire. The captive paled as Yami set the boy down. He began quaking as the boy's head snapped up, eyes glowing amethyst. "He c-c-can't be. The kid's dead," the man stuttered.

Yami held a hand in front of the small boy, "Hold a moment. What is his name?"

"The r-runt? Yugi Mutou," the man said nervously. "Why is he still alive?"

"He's not. Time to eat, my son," Yami said as he removed his hand and the boy leapt at the man's throat.

()()()()()()()()

Yugi was instantly accepted as the Prince and was given whatever he desired. Few aside from Yami ever told him 'no' and remained unharmed. The boy had everyone who had before plotted to bring an end to Yami's reign now walking on eggshells. Once he had dismembered a member of the council for not only openly disregarding Yami's call to order but for also blatantly drawing attention to the boy finger-painting by the throne. The rest of the council watched in horror as the boy launched himself at the man and tore him to shreds before returning to his painting. Amethyst eyes scanned the crowd moments later as if challenging them to defy the king or himself.

Just the mere mention of the word 'Play' followed by maniacal giggles sent most running in fear. Yugi loved to torment those who would defy his papa. Yami had to admit that Yugi was the best thing to have happened to him. The eternal child would eventually calm, but the playfulness and loyalty would remain long after. Yami's Healer, Isis, had assumed that Yugi's insanity was due to the trauma he had gone through before he was Turned. She was rewarded by the boy with a headless squirrel at her desk later that day.

()()()()()()()()

Yugi was excited to be taken to where he was found and saved by his papa for the first time in six years. He would be taken to the village and have his 'playtime' with the locals, maybe even pick out a playmate or two. Yami held Yugi's hand as they walked into the village. The boy looked around at the locals in their winter garb and looked up at his papa, "Why are they dressed funny, Papa?"

"They are cold, Little One. They feel what we cannot."

Yugi smirked, "Perhaps if they ran, they would not be so cold."

One girl spotted the pair and paled. She remembered seeing the boy tied to a tree and half-dead. Her own uncle had ordered the boy's abandonment six years ago. Yet here he was, pale as death and very much alert. His amethyst eyes met her frightened brown ones. "Do you wanna play," the boy giggled insanely.

The girl screamed and ran towards the closest building. Two teens and two little kids peeked out. The teens paled. The blond one stepped out to pull the girl in, but was pulled out by Yugi's unnatural strength, "I wanna play."

"You ain't Yugi," the boy cried out fearfully.

Yugi smirked at the boy, "But I am Yugi and I wanna play."

The boy shook his head. "The Yugi that I knew was harmless and nice."

"I like playtime," Yugi giggled. "I like the pretty colors, don't you?"

The child was silenced when one of the boy's companions hit him in the back of the head with a cast iron skillet. His eyes rolled back as he collapsed in a heap before the blond boy. They quickly tied the little vampire up in the house and threw water on him to wake him up.

Yugi glared at the four kids, revealing his sharp fangs as he growled at them. "Papa will get you!"

"Yugi, remember me," the blond boy pleaded. "I used to baby-sit you."

"Papa never let anyone sit on me," Yugi growled.

The boy tried again, "My name is Joey. That's Tristan and Tea. The other two are Ryou and Malik."

Yugi smirked evilly, "You made a big boo-boo. You told your names. You're my toys now."

Joey watched as Ryou and Malik's eyes went blank and the ten-year-old boys walked closer to Yugi. "Untie me," Yugi ordered them. He looked at the teens, "One move and I break them!"

Yugi left with the two boys following him closely. He smirked as he looked at his soon-to-be brothers, "Papa will like my new friends."

Yami watched as Yugi made it to the edge of the village with the two boys. "Why did you take these two?"

Yugi grinned, "A boy told me their names and I want them. Please Papa, can I keep them? I'll take care of them forever and ever."

"I'll do you one better, my son. I'll make them your brothers instead," Yami bargained. He knew that Yugi would kill them if he were to 'play' with them. The boy had little self-control and would take better care of the boys if they were like him.

Yugi nodded, "Can I watch?"

Yami smirked, "Why not."

He knelt next to Ryou and pulled the boy into his arms and drained him to near death. Just before the blood loss would kill the child, Yami forced the boy to drink from his bleeding wrist. The process was repeated with Malik. Yugi watched as the pair cried out. When the two stopped moving, Yugi approached them cautiously. Glowing hazel and lavender eyes snapped open. Ryou and Malik looked around them nervously. Yami decided to step in before they saw Yugi. "My poor sons, are you alright?"

Yugi looked around Yami's leg, "Papa, can we play yet?"

"Make sure you boys eat something too," Yami stated as he helped his two newest sons from the ground. "Yugi, no more playmates."

Yugi pouted but took off behind his new brothers.

()()()()()()()()

"Uncle, he's back," Tea cried out. "I saw Yugi and he took Ryou and Malik."

"Tea, that boy died six years ago," the village leader stated calmly.

Tea shook her head, "He didn't! Uncle Dartz, he was alive but he looked like he did that day we left him in the forest!"

"So the rumors were true after all. The Vampire King resides in our very region," Dartz mused. He turned to his niece, "Gather up all the children and take them into the schoolhouse. I'll deal with this creature myself."

Dartz spotted the trio of 'children' and instantly recognized the smallest one. He watched as Yugi pulled away from a woman's 'hug', her body falling to the ground. Yugi wiped his mouth and made a face, "Yucky! She tasted bad. I'm still hungry!"

Dartz shook his head as he recognized the dead woman. She was the town's sole drunk female. She had been an outcast since the second time she wandered through the village so drunk that she couldn't take three steps without tripping. He gathered up his wits and approached the boys, "May I help you boys?"

Ryou and Malik stepped away from Yugi and Dartz. Yugi looked up at him with malice in his once innocent eyes. Yugi stood up and clenched his tiny fists, "I'm hungry!"

"Surely we can find you something suitable to eat," Dartz offered.

Yugi gave an evil grin, revealing a pair of fangs. The man stepped backwards. "I want the yummy red stuff you have," Yugi stated as he stepped closer to him.

"Yugi, stop this right now! What would your dear grandpa think," Joey called out as he stepped into the alley. "What would Grandpa think if he were to see you this second?"

Yugi froze as images of his human life flashed in his mind. His human mother holding him when he needed her most, his grandfather showing him how to play games and telling him stories, and Joey playing with him whenever the adults were too busy to watch him. Yugi began wailing as things hit home. Yami heard the cries and rushed to Yugi's side. He looked at Joey and then at his now crying child, "What did you do? How did you get him to cry like this?"

"I asked him the one question that I used to whenever he was going to get into trouble," Joey admitted. "I asked him what his gramps would think if he were around."

Yami smiled sadly, "I've been trying for years to find a way to get him to calm his darkness. Tried and failed."

"How touching," Dartz mocked, "but enough of this. You and your kind need to die!"

Yami turned on him with Yugi still in his arms crying, "No. For your crimes, you are the one to perish. Whenever a child is ill, you care for them. You don't abandon them in the forest to die alone!"

He motioned to Ryou and Malik to finish the man off before turning back to Joey, "Forgive me for this, but after today none will remember the three boys I will take with me from this place."

"Actually, you could do us all one more favor... Ryou and Malik's older brothers have been sick for a long time and could die from it. Could you take them with you," Joey asked.

Yami nodded, "Of course. I will extend to them an offer to become a part of my family. I apologize for the actions of Yugi during his 'playtime' and for the loss of your friends."

()()()()()()()()

Bakura and Malik, the elder brothers of Ryou and Malik, accepted Yami's offer and became his 'eldest' sons. They helped to keep Yugi in check whenever his evil side decided to present itself. Yugi was a lot calmer since the attack on the village and acted more like the five-year-old child he was once before. However, the dark and sadistic side of the boy did make periodic appearances whenever something threatened those he cared about.

Yami watched as Bakura tucked Yugi into bed for the day. Amethyst eyes looked at him, full of innocence, "Papa, please tell me a story."

"One story, then bed," Yami bargained.

Yugi nodded. Yami sat by Yugi's bedside and told him how he had become the king of the supernatural world, the censored version of course. He watched as Yugi's eyes slowly closed, heavy with sleep. After kissing the boy on his forehead, Yami headed to his own chambers to sleep the day away.


End file.
